It is R.A.U.’s mission and vision spread the fame of King Jesus so that He IS WORSHIPED among all peoples,tongues, tribes, and nations (Revelation 5:9)! Please pray for us as we press on with this God given call!

The last Command of Christ should be our first concern. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to Salvation for everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

Lifeblood

We must never allow distractions, danger, disappointments, or determined opposition, to deter us from obeying Christ’s Great Commission. Our purpose on earth is to: “Make disciples… teaching obedience…”

The lifeblood of the Church is its Evangelistic zeal. No matter what the situation, or how adverse the circumstances may seem to be, our Lord’s Command is to: “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2

The Great Commission is great!

It contains a great truth – Jesus is Lord over all areas of life.

A Great Commission – We are to make disciples of all nations.

A great Command – We are to teach obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded.

And a great Promise – The Lord Himself promises to be with us for all time.

The Greatness of the Great Commission

When we consider the greatness of the Great Commission, that Christ is commanding us to follow His example, to be sent, even as He was sent, to preach Repentance, and the forgiveness of sins to all nations, to be His witnesses to the very ends of the earth, to preach the Gospel to every person, to make disciples of the nations, teaching obedience to all things that He has commanded – we are overwhelmed! The task seems impossible. Which of us can possibly feel adequate to the incredible responsibility of discipling the nations?

The Promised Power

But every command of Christ comes with a promise. When the Lord commands us to go and make disciples of all nations, He reminds us that He has all authority in Heaven and on earth, and He promises us: “Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20.

When the Lord commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, He promised miraculous power: “and they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word through the accompanying signs” Mark 16:20.

When the Lord commanded: “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations…” He promised “Power from on high” Luke 24:47-49.

When the Lord commissioned His followers: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit” John 20:21-22.

At the Ascension, when the Lord commanded His followers to be His witnesses “to the ends of the earth” He promised: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” Acts 1:10.

A World to Win

Nothing that God has commanded us to do is impossible. As we read in the Book of Acts, the Lord went up! The Holy Spirit came down! The disciples went out! (Acts 1:8-8:1). A handful of disciples in an upper room went out and changed the world!

Look at the Fields

The Lord commanded us: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already ripe for harvest!” John 4:35. Our Lord commanded us to look at the fields. We need to investigate and understand the missionary challenge. Obtain the Operation World Missionary Handbook. Focus on a different country each month, in the bulletins, on the notice boards, in prayer focus, in Sunday school, youth group, men’s prayer fellowship and women’s group.

A House of Prayer for All Nations

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

It is written: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Mark 11:17

The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World

Is every department of the Church consistently praying and working, for the fulfillment of the Great Commission?

Each member of the Church needs to be informed, interceding, and involved in seeking to win their family, friends, and neighbors to the Lord. Also praying and supporting missions, to the ends of the earth. “Freely you have received, freely give” Matthew 10:8.

Mobilizing the Congregation

Missionary speakers, Mission newsletters, missionary films, missionary books and biographies in the church library, prayer posters and maps on notice boards, and church member’s social media, can all be means for lifting our eyes unto the fields which are ripe unto harvest.

A number of churches that I have visited have a sign over the inside of their doorway declaring: You are now entering the mission field! That is a good reminder that the church service is primarily for the building up of the believers for works of service and Evangelism in the world.

The Mbuti Pygmy Tribe live deep in the Iturie rain forest of Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. R.A.U. is located in northwestern Uganda and within striking distance of the Mbuti. As far as we know there are no “”believers” among the this tribe of pygmies.(**Revised Nov 12, 2015: I have just met with two Congolese brothers here at RAU during our retreat with Congolese leaders. We worked out a ministry trip to Komanda. Pastor Baiti has been working with them and there are number who have come to Christ. This is very good news! He has a heart to reach other Mbuti who are still deep in the forest and unreached. In the first part of April 2016, Lord willing, I will travel f to Komanda for several days of discipleship training and if able head into the forest for evangelism. My ultimate goal is to target Mubuti believers the Lord is raising to shepherd and reach their own people. Lord willing, we will be able to bring some to RAU for training as well. Pray!)Along with some of our Congolese brothers we will be doing research on the Mbuti praying for strategies for planting churches in their midst. No doubt this will involve some initially forays into the Iturie rain forest and praying/training some “laborers” at R.A.U. to live among them proclaiming and living out the gospel in their midst! Would you please pray for the Mbuti and God’s blessing on our plans to reach them?

“God created both soul and body, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both the spiritual and the material. Therefore God is concerned not only for the salvation of souls but also for the relief of poverty, hunger, and injustice.

The gospel opens our eyes to the fact that all our wealth (even wealth for which we worked hard) is ultimately an unmerited gift from God. Therefore the person who does not generously give away his or her wealth to others is not merely lacking in compassion, but is unjust.

Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness and service, and comes to wealth through giving all away. Those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost. We cannot look at the poor and the oppressed and callously call them to pull themselves out of their own difficulty. Jesus did not treat us that way.”